Babies
by VegAndGeeky
Summary: When one of Klarion's spells hits Wally, he's reverted by to the age and mindset of a toddler. But Artemis is none too pleased that the team has put her in charge of watching him. Spitfire. First story on Geekyartchick and Ironicveghead's joint ffnet account!
1. Pretty Arty

**Welcome to Veg and Geeky's collab! This is the first story we've posted on this name. We have a few other collab stories that are under our personals, but the idea to make a joint account has been a recent improvement!**

**Disclaimer: We don't own YJ. If we did...oh man...the possibilities...,**

**We hope you enjoy the story!**

* * *

"You brats are so annoying!" Klarion yelled, his eyes glinting with anger as he shot red bolts of magic at the teens.

The team had been sent by Batman to stop Klarion from releasing the animals at a zoo. His goal was to let the carnivorous creatures ravish the city nearby; which also meant he had decided to let them out early in the morning so that the animals would catch the early commuters.

"Right back at you," Conner grumbled as he wrestled a few bears back into their enclosure.

"You're always trying to ruin my fun!" The witch snarled, fighting off Aqualad, Miss Martian, and Kid Flash's attacks.

"Doctor Fate is on his way," Robin informed them as he ran into the fray, glancing at Zatanna who frowned deeply at the hero's mention.

"Then we can put this freak in the cage he needs," Artemis growled. Her arrows didn't do any good against Klarion's magic so she got stuck with net duty. Shooting her ropes at the monkeys trying to reach the trees at the edge of the zoo's property.

"I heard that!" Klarion shrieked, turning his attention towards the archer. He shot a spell at her but the blonde dodged it.

"Freak," She scowled as she ran for cover. A single monkey caught her attention, it was almost past her range, "Now I know how Superboy feels," Artemis said under her breath, shooting an arrow towards the creature.

"Artemis! Look out!" Wally's voice yelled out. The archer turned in time to see another one of Klarion's spells heading her way. She only had time to widen her eyes in surprise before she was shoved violently aside.

"Kid!" M'gann screamed over the mind link.

Artemis couldn't even scream as she stared at the pile of spandex lying where she had previously been standing. No...Wally...

"Klarion," A doubled voice rang out. Doctor Fate had arrived.

"Kid?" Artemis spoke up hesitantly, her hand reaching out to grab at the fabric of his uniform.

"Where's KF?" Robin ran over, his eyes wide in sudden panic. He hadn't seen what had transpired, only Artemis looking helplessly at the pile of his clothes.

"I-" Her voice caught in her throat.

"Heehehe," Something giggled from within the folds of the red and yellow fabric. Artemis and Robin froze, eyes glued to the source of the noise.

"Wally?" Robin asked slowly, squatting down to poke at the suit.

"Peek a boo!" A child squealed, jumping up.

Artemis and Robin's mouths both fell open in pure shock. The child had messy red hair, large green eyes, freckles, and a wide smile stretched across his face.

"Wally...You're..."

"Naked," Artemis deadpanned, a frown growing on her face as she slapped a hand over her eyes and moaned, "You are a naked child,"

"Dick!" Wally screeched in excitement, trying to run over to Robin but tripping in the suit tangled in his feet, "Oof," He frowned.

"He shouldn't know that word!" Artemis said, her head turned away from the boy now instead of holding her hand over her eyes.

"Diiiiiiiick!" Wally whined, stretching his hands out toward his best friend.

"Wally," Robin spoke firmly, "You can't say that,"

The confusion that blossomed over his freckled face caused Robin to pity him. He was only calling for his friend, but Robin had to protect his identity in front of Artemis.

"Wally, I'm Robin," He put a hand to his chest to gesture before waving one at the archer by his side, "This is Artemis,"

"Can you please put something on him?" Artemis grumbled, still faced away from the two, "I don't need to see his freckled butt or his-,"

"Yeah hold on," Robin cut her off, "Hey Supey!" The boy wonder called. The rest of the team was distracted by putting all the animals back in their cages, they didn't know what had happened to Wally yet but had been informed via mind link by Robin that he was fine. The clone came over to the duo-and-a-half with a confused frown.

"Yeah?" He asked before he noticed the small naked child pooled in Wally's clothes, "Oh no..." His frown grew deeper.

"Ha," Robin chuckled humorlessly, "So can Wally have your shirt?" He grinned.

Superboy sighed but took off his shirt and tossed it onto Wally's head. The speedster laughed from under the dark cloth, apparently finding his new fort immensely entertaining.

"Of all the people for this to happen to," Conner said, "Wally is the worst case scenario,"

Robin situated the shirt around the squirming redhead like a toga, nudging Artemis when he was done, "I wonder if he has superspeed," Robin murmured.

"Step aside," The doubled voice of Doctor Fate spoke as he floated over, the rest of the team behind him, their faces swiftly turning to ones of shock as they took in the giggling boy attempting to grab Robin's utility belt.

"Can you make him normal?" M'gann asked the magician.

Doctor Fate's eyes glowed as he assessed the spell put over the speedster, "No," He announced.

"What?" Zatanna asked, "Every spell can! Surely you could do something to-"

"The spell cannot be reversed," Fate explained, "This is because it will wear off,"

"How long will it last?" Kaldur asked calmly, eyeing Wally curiously.

"Three days at most. Most likely shorter," was all he said, nodding briefly before flying off without warning.

A silence followed as the group stared at the child.

"He's cute," M'gann stated, smiling at the redhead. Wally looked up at her, his eyes widening as he noticed that she was floating.

"Whoa!" He gasped, running around and underneath the Maritan in a blur.

"He has superspeed," Artemis groaned, "He's going to be a menace,"

* * *

The zeta tube announced the arrival of the Flash and the team let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Unca Barry!" Wally shrieked with joy and zipped over to his uncle who was holding a large duffle over his shoulder. Wally bounced on the heels of his feet, "Play tag!"

"Hey...Kid," Barry said, noticing how accurate the nickname was at the moment. He scooped the laughing kid up with one arm and headed to the bathroom, "I'll be back. I'm gonna put some clothes on him,"

"Sure," M'gann quipped, speaking for all of them. It had only been two hours since Wally had turned into a child and they were already exhausted.

Wally could still run faster than any of them, but at least he couldn't keep his giggling mouth shut. So it wasn't like they ever lost track of him. Robin, M'gann, and Zatanna tried the hardest to keep track of the blur.

Robin had the best chances of catching him, Wally seemed most inclined to listen to the bird. Robin also had the most interesting things in his utility belt that he could use to bribe the boy.

Zatanna gave up shortly after trying. Wally grew upset whenever she tried to interest him with some magic and had quickly decided that he didn't like her. "Stupid tricks," He had told her.

M'gann tried her best to keep up with Wally. Suggesting games and snacks at every opportunity. But the speedster had set all his attention on Artemis. Or rather "Pretty Arty,"

"Pretty Arty!" Wally yelled as he ran back into the room, looking adamantly for the blonde. Barry walked into the room right behind him, frowning at the snickers that came from the boy's wardrobe choice.

"It's all he would wear," Barry grumbled, staring pointedly at Wally running around proudly in his Flash onesie.

"Ah!" Wally shrieked when he found Artemis laying on the couch, an arm thrown over her eyes, "Pretty Arty!" He poked her repeatedly.

"Whaaat?" She groaned, turning her head to eye Wally in his bright red onesie with the flash insignia printed on the chest, "Congratulations," She told him blandly.

"Well, I'll see you guys later. Bye Kid!" Barry waved as he headed towards the zeta beams.

"Bye Flash," Robin said as the others waved, "Thanks for bringing all the junk we needed,"

"What!" Wally squealed, running to his uncle, "Unca Barry don leave!"

"Sorry Wally," Barry said, kneeling down to hug his nephew, "You know I'm too busy to take you with me," Wally bit his lip in sadness, "Your friends are gonna take care of you," He explained, turning the kid around to face his friends gathered around the living room.

"Imissyou," Wally said quickly, smashing his face into the Flash's suit. Barry laughed.

"I'll miss you too Buddy," He patted Wally's back before standing up and heading again towards the zeta tubes.

The computer announced his leave and Wally turned around, the indecision swirling behind his eyes. The team didn't need to communicate telepathically to know they were all wondering who the next victim of Wally's attention was going to be.

"I hungry," He announced, looking at all of them expectantly.

* * *

Artemis sighed.

They'd left her alone. With Wally.

Those fiends.

She was pretty sure half of their excuses for leaving were fake too. And now she was standing in the kitchen with a hungry speedster at her side.

"Pretty Arty," He whined, "Food,"

Artemis frowned and mindlessly placed her hand on top of Wally's messy hair.

"What do you want?" She asked as she perused the pantry.

"Has ta be yummy," He said. Artemis rolled her eyes.

"How about a peanut butter sandwich?" She suggested. Wally grinned and nodded.

"Jelly too," He said, scrambling up the side of a chair to sit at the island where Artemis was preparing his sandwich.

Artemis paused after she had made one sandwich and slid the plate over to Wally. The speedster usually had to eat large amounts of food, he would probably need more food than a regular child too.

"Still hungry?" She asked as Wally finished up. He nodded and Artemis started working on another sandwich. The archer grabbed a bag of chips from the cabinet and tossed them in front of him to eat too.

Five sandwiches later and he was still going.

"Hungry," Wally complained, holding his stomach.

"Wally I think you've eaten enough," Artemis told him firmly, and instantly regretted it.

Wally's lower lip quivered and he stared at his empty plate, "Never enough," He sobbed, wet tears starting to accumulate on his lashes.

And Artemis was forced to remember that Wally wasn't always just a happy, joking, skirt-chaser. Because kids were just emotions personified. Just people before they learn to hide their insecurities and problems in adulthood.

And that maybe, this wasn't just a smaller, more annoying version of her teammate. But that he was also a more open version; more honest and vulnerable than how he normally was.

"I'm sorry Wally," Artemis spoke softly; petting his hair back affectionately as a few tears slipped down his freckle-dotted cheeks.

"Can I...Hic...have..Hic...little more?" He asked between small sobs. Artemis nodded and got some apples from the refrigerator to cut into slices.

Wally munched his way through them quickly as Artemis sat quietly by his side.

"Still hungry?" She asked again.

Wally nodded, "Normal hungry," He described before hopping down from his seat.

Artemis smirked, waiting to see what he would do as his eyes looked around the cave mischievously. Then his face scrunched up and he narrowed his eyes before a look of decisive happiness appeared.

"Play outside?" He asked, running back to Artemis. The archer sighed as she thought it over.

Wally definitely wouldn't be able to control his speed. But she didn't have to take him anywhere public. She could just take him to the beach, it was still early enough.

"Alright, Kid," She smirked, "Let's get you into a swimsuit,"

Wally gasped and his eyes filled with excitement. Artemis resisted laughing as he began running around her, cheering with his arms in the air.

"Yay! Beach!" He squealed. The blonde nudged him toward his bedroom where Barry had left the duffle. She knew he had packed a swimsuit for bathing purposes.

Wally ran ahead.

Artemis walked.

Wally ran back to Artemis.

Artemis smirked and continued to walk to his bedroom at a normal pace.

Wally ran back to his room.

Artemis continued walking.

Wally showed up at her side again.

"Pretty Arty slow!" He declared, folding his arms across his chest. Artemis chuckled and ruffled his hair, causing him to pout as the finally reached his room.

She dug through his duffel until she found a pair of the Flash swim trunks. "Why am I not surprised?" She muttered to herself, "Alright," She turned to the bouncing kid waiting behind her, "Put these on, I'll be right back," Artemis ordered, slipping out of the room to grab some sunscreen from the bathroom.

"Done!" Wally declared, surprising her by running into the bathroom after her.

"Great," Artemis smirked before surprising him by picking him up under the armpits and standing him on the bathroom counter. Wally giggled at the ride before frowning at the white substance Artemis had in her hands.

"Yuck!" He blanched, leaning away from her touch as she began to apply his sunscreen. Artemis laughed at the face of utter disgust he was pulling.

"All done," Artemis smirked. Wally cheered and jumped to the floor, slipping a bit on the tile. The archer swiftly caught him before he hit the ground.

"Tanks Pretty Arty," He beamed up at her before taking off towards the door to the beach.

Artemis smiled, walking at a leisurely pace to her room to grab a book to read before meeting the impatient redhead bouncing at the door that wouldn't open for him.

Wally laughed when the door opened at Artemis's authorization and he ran out excitedly on to the sand before running straight into the water and the waves. She laughed as he got a face-full of water in his mouth because he had been squealing as he ran.

The speedster spluttered for a bit, but quickly recovered and began splashing through the shallow waves some more.

Artemis sighed and propped herself up in a beach chair that had been permanently left out.

"Don't go too far. No water above your hips," Artemis called out to him.

"Kay Pretty Arty!" Wally laughed in response, jumping and squealing when the waves passed him.

Artemis allowed herself a small smile before relaxing into the book she had brought with her. Maybe taking care of the kid wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Please leave a review to let us know what you think!**

**Another update will come in the next few days! So keep your eyes peeled!**

**-Veg and Geeky **


	2. Wallace the Pain

**Thank you so much for all the positive reviews! We are so glad all of you like this so much! Here is another chapter! 3**

* * *

Something wasn't right.

Artemis glanced up from her book and took in her surroundings. The sun was shining, the waves were crashing into the shore, and the wind blowing lightly.

That wasn't the problem. The problem was that it was quiet.

Nothing was quiet when Wally was around.

She threw her things down and frantically looked around, the redhead wasn't anywhere to be seen. He'd been playing in the water only a few minutes ago, and now he wasn't there.

She stood up, and jogged over to the shore. "Wally? Wally, where are you?" Artemis yelled out, twirling around to see if he had wandered past the rocks that kept the beach private.

He wasn't anywhere to be seen.

The pounding from her heart was rising in her throat, and she could feel a pit forming in her stomach. She'd lost him, she'd lost Wally. She was supposed to be watching him, keeping him safe, and now he was missing! How would she explain that to the team, to the Flash!

Artemis ran along the coast and continued to call out Wally's name. She forced herself not to think about the possibility that he had gotten caught in the waves. She'd told him not to go too far out, but what if he hadn't listened?

"Wally, come here this instant!" Artemis yelled out once more in desperation, wringing her wrists.

Suddenly, there was a whoosh of wind and sand, and the red-haired boy was standing in front of her, holding a bunch of shells in his arms. "Pretty Arty, look what I found!"

She grabbed him, accidentally knocking the rocks from him, and held him close. "Wallace West, where were you? Don't you ever do that to me again, you understand?"

"Okay, I won'." Wally bit his lower lip, and Artemis hugged him again. "It's fine, just don't do it again." She mumbled.

"But, look what I got Arty!" He scrambled around the sand to pick up his shells, "Souvenirs!"

She sat on the ground and let out a long sigh, and Wally wriggled on to her lap. He babbled about how he'd been searching in the rocks for creatures, and showed her each rock that he'd brought back, and told a story of how he found it.

Artemis would have fallen asleep, if it hadn't had been for Wally continuously badgering her to pay attention. Whenever it seemed that she wasn't looking at his 'souvenirs', he'd tug on her hair and whine.

Finally, Wally finished going through his collection, and fell asleep on Artemis's lap.

"Great. Just great."

She managed to get up without waking the kid, and threw him over her shoulder. Artemis gathered up his shells, because she knew he'd have a fit if she left them, and trudged back up the beach to the chair she'd been sitting in. Balancing the redhead and his rocks, she picked up her book and made her way back to the cave.

She passed the bathrooms and took a towel off the rack, covering it over Wally.

Unsure what to do next, she went to the living room and put the toddler down on the sofa. Everything else she plopped onto the coffee table, and then she went back to the kitchen to make snacks.

* * *

The recipe hadn't told Artemis how long it would take to get all the ingredients, but it was way longer than she had anticipated.

Chopping up the tomatoes and lettuce hadn't been too difficult, but the cheese shredder took a while to find (for some reason, M'gann had it in the very back of the lower cabinet). Eventually, she shred all the cheddar she could, and had all the fixings placed atop the tortilla chips. Artemis put the tray into the oven and set the timer for fifteen minutes.

Artemis glanced into the living room; Wally was still fast asleep. She paced into her room, wiped all the sand off her legs, and changed out of her shorts to jeans. There were drool stains on her shirt from where the speedster had been positioned, so she traded that in for a simple white t-shirt instead.

"Arty, where you go?" A sluggish voice came from the other side of her bedroom door.

She turned the knob and the little redhead came bumbling in and attached himself to her leg.

"I couldn' find you." He whimpered, "It scared me."

"It's okay Wally, I was just cleaning up a bit. I didn't know that you were awake already." She picked him up, and made her way back to the kitchen to check the food.

"I don' like it when you leave. I don' wanna lose you."

"Why would you be afraid of that?"

"Cause, I like you Pretty Arty. You my favorite." Wally played with Artemis's hair, occasionally yanking down, much to her annoyance.

"Er, thank you Wallace, I suppose I like you as well." Artemis said, as she sat the toddler down on the kitchen stool. "I made you something yummy for lunch, you like nachos?"

A giant grin grew across his face, and Wally started jumping up and down in his seat. "NACHOOOOOOS!" He yipped. With perfect timing, the buzzer went off. Artemis put on oven mitts and took out the tray of cheesy chips. They smelled delicious.

Wally went to scoop a handful with his bare hands, but Artemis slapped them away to keep him from burning himself. "They're too hot." She said in a somewhat scolding manner. He pouted out his lip.

Then, Artemis noticed that Wally was still dressed in his swim trunks. Moving to where the kid was sitting, she picked him back up before placing him onto the ground, then knelt beside him.

"No nachos until you've cleaned up, we need to get you back into your regular clothes. Can you go run slowly to the bathroom and wash your legs off?"

He nodded, "Course I can, I'm a big boy."

"And dress yourself too?" She asked, not being keen on the idea of having to help Wally put clothes on.

He gave her the "duh" look that little kids were so good at, and sped off towards the bathroom.

"Be careful!" She harped, rolling her eyes as he nearly collided with the corner wall of the hallway. Artemis took two plates from the upper cabinet and started to shovel some nachos onto them. Then, she sat back down at the island and waited for the redhead to come back, flipping open her phone to see if she had any new messages. There was no news from the team as to when they'd be coming back.

Why was she not surprised?

* * *

Wally wrapped his arms around her calf, and sat atop her foot, refusing to budge. He nestled his face into her jeans, and Artemis sighed heavily; annoyed that she'd been the one to get stuck babysitting him. Again.

She tried to remove him from her leg, but his small little fingers clung to the denim of Artemis's jeans, and she could not tear him off. Trying not to show her frustration, Artemis gave her best smile and in a gentle voice said, "Wallace, it's bedtime, get off my leg please."

Pouting out his lip, he looked up at Artemis. "Not tired, no bedtime." His large emerald eyes, which snuck out from between pieces of unkempt red hair, were surrounded by a mask of freckles.

Artemis rolled her eyes, and threw her hands up in the air. She had no clue how to deal with this, kids were not her forte, and the fact that it was Wally made it even more difficult.

She walked to the kitchen counter where she had placed her cell, though, it was more like stomping because she had to drag the little kid with her. He laughed every time she lifted up her foot and swung it forward, as if it was most fun thing in the world. Artemis tried not to grin at his excited little chuckles.

She dialed Rob's number, hoping that he'd have any idea on how to get the tiny speedster to bed. It rang two or three times, before a sudden "Hello?" answered the call.

"Rob, help me." She ordered into the phone, which caused Wally to tug on her pants, "I wanna talk to Rob!" Artemis moved a finger to her lips, telling him to be quiet.

"Can you give me a sec, I'm dealing with something right now." He asked. She impatiently tapped her foot, bobbing Wally up and down, and his laughter echoed out through the cave. Maybe I can shake him off? Artemis thought to herself, but instead the redhead's grip tightened as he held on for dear life.

"Okay, what's up Artemis?" Robin had come back onto the call. He sounded out of breath.

"Wally is refusing to sleep." She stated bluntly.

Artemis could nearly hear him smirking through the phone. "That sounds like quite the predicament. What can I do?"

"How the fu-" She paused, keeping herself from cursing in front of Wally, "He won't get off my leg, and is refusing to go to sleep. Do you know anyway I can get him off?"

"No sleep, no sleep!" Wally yelled out.

Rob pondered this for a moment, "Have you considered tickling him? That's what my parents used to-." His voice cracked, and Artemis bit her lip, getting the feeling that it was a touchy subject for him.

"Uh, I'll try that. Thanks Rob. I gotta go."

A click told Artemis that he had already hung up.

She put the phone down, and glanced down at Wally. He was playing with the straps on her boots, and had decided it would be fun to undo them.

"Wallace, stop doing that." Artemis pushed her hair out of her face and made her way to Wally's bedroom. They'd set up toys and such around the room, and even had a baby monitor sitting high up on a shelf.

She sat down on his bed, and glared down at the speedster, who'd ignored her and continued to mess with her bootstraps. Tickling huh? Please, let this work.

"Okay Wally, it's time for bed now." She cooed sweetly at him. He glanced up at her, and went back to the boots. "No bed for me, not sleepy."

She gasped a little. "Wallace, do you know what happens to little boys that don't go to sleep when they're told?"

He peered from under his untidy hair questioningly at Artemis, "Um, n-no?"

"They get visited by..." A wide grin grew across Artemis's face, "THE TICKLE MONSTER!"

She began tickling the kid under the armpits, who yelped out and tried to crawl away from the blonde. "No no no no no!" He giggled, as Artemis jumped to where he'd tried to run to and started an onslaught of pokes to his small belly. Wally managed to get out of her grasp, and tottered to the door, jumping to try and reach the handle.

She padded over to him, and deviously growled, "I'M GONNA GET YA!"

He shrieked, and tried to hide underneath his bed, but his feet stuck out.

Her fingers flitted across the bare toes and she grabbed his ankles to pull him out. "This little piggy went to the market," She wiggled his big toe, "This little piggy went home." He howled out in excitement, begging her to stop.

She finally lugged him out from under the bed, and Artemis gathered him up in her arms, "You promise to go to bed now, or do we need another visit from the Tickle Monster?"

He nodded frantically, "I go bed now! No more tickles please!"

"Good choice." She moved the covers a bit off the bed, put him down, and tucked him in. She turned off the lights, and Artemis went to leave the room, but a whimper from Wally stopped her. Sighing, she sat back down.

"What's wrong?"

The tiny redhead eyed the room nervously, "The monsters might get me in dark." His lip trembled a little as he stared up at Artemis.

"There's no monsters in here." She said, starting to get up again.

"How you sure?" He fiddled with the blanket atop him. His eyes were unseeable under his mop of red hair, and his chubby fingers gripped onto the fabric tightly. Then it dawned on her.

"Wally, are you afraid of the dark?" She asked. He instantly flashed his head up. "Course not! Big boys aren't 'fraid of dark, and I'm a big boy."

Artemis raised her eyebrows, not believing him. She moved to where the duffle bag of Wally's things was, and picked through the contents until she found what she'd been hoping was there: A small nightlight.

She plugged it into the outlet and it dimly lit the room, then she turned to Wally.

"Okay big boy, go to sleep now. Monsters can't get you now."

The speedster yawned in response, curling into the covers. Artemis shut the door and moved to the kitchen to prepare herself something to eat. Taking a banana and her cell phone, she moved to the sofa in the living room and sank into the cushions. Not a single text message from Robin, or any of the rest of team, who had been assigned a mission.

She flicked on the television, scrolled through the channels, and found nothing so she turned it back off. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

She'd been asleep on the couch, when a sudden cry awoke her. Artemis shot up, glancing around to find the source of the noise. It was coming from the kitchen, and then she remembered the baby monitor.

She went straight to Wally's room, where she could hear his wails even from down the hall. It had only been a few hours since she had put him down to sleep, her watch told her, and there was still no one else in the cave.

She softly opened the door, and saw the toddler sitting upright with tears streaming down his cheeks. At the sight of Artemis, he stopped wailing and watched her walk over to the bed.

"What happened Wally?" She, awkwardly patting the top of his head as he burrowed his face into her side. He mumbled something into her shirt, but she couldn't hear it.

"I can't hear you, what it is?" Artemis pried him off and tipped his face up. His eyes were puffy and red from crying. "Bad dream," he sniffled.

Her mouth formed an 'o' and she softly wiped the tears off his reddened cheeks. She pursed her lips as Wally leaned forward to wrap his arms tightly around her torso once more. She didn't know what to do.

Artemis softly rubbed his back and remembered what her sister would do for her whenever she had nightmares.

Wally's eyes drifted upwards curiously when Artemis started humming. His tears subsided and he managed a small smile at the blonde who was looking anywhere but at him as she hummed a tune and rubbed his back comfortingly.

Artemis could have sighed in relief if she wasn't so busy humming the boy to sleep. His cries softened into heavy breaths and his head drooped onto her stomach as he grew drowsy from his tears. She leaned back carefully into his propped up pillows, not wanting to disturb him, and set her hand gently on top of his red hair.

She felt her eyelids grow heavy but figured that there was no harm taking a small nap until Wally was asleep enough for him not to notice her sneaking away.

Artemis looked down and watched as Wally drooled on her again. She couldn't believe that Wally turning into a child would teach her so much about him. About who he was on the inside.

He was always hiding his worries with a smile, always trying to look like he had things under control. She knew that now. And he cared about her. Artemis had no idea he actually worried about her until now. The blonde smiled. She supposed everyone had emotions they were trying to hide. Artemis couldn't help but think about her childhood, or rather lack thereof, and how scared she'd been of being alone.

The archer felt her eyelids close as her vision blurred from weariness. But that was okay. A nap couldn't hurt.

* * *

**Another chapter coming soon! A new exciting twist will happen, can anyone guess what it's going to be? **

**I (Veg) would have put it in the summary already, but I had no idea how to explain it in the allotted characters. **

**Another update will arrive in the next few days, please review and let us know what you think!**

**3 Veg and Geeky**


	3. ImSorryWhatJustHappened?

**Welcome to chapter 3! Where things get a bit confusing! But please bear with us, it will be explained in due time!**

* * *

"You brats are so annoying!" Klarion yelled, his eyes glinting with anger as he shot red bolts of magic at the teens.

The team had been sent by Batman to stop Klarion from releasing the animals at a zoo. His goal was to let the carnivorous creatures ravish the city nearby; which also meant he had decided to let them out early in the morning so that the animals would catch the early commuters.

"Right back at you," Conner grumbled as he wrestled a few bears back into their enclosure.

"You're always trying to ruin my fun!" The witch snarled, fighting off Aqualad and Miss Martian, and Kid Flash's attacks.

"Doctor Fate is on his way," Robin informed them as he ran into the fray, glancing at Zatanna who frowned deeply at the hero's mention.

"Then we can put this freak in the cage he needs," Artemis growled.

"I heard that!" Klarion shrieked, turning his attention towards the archer. He shot a spell at her but the blonde dodged it. Wally ran towards her, Klarion seemed intent on hurting Artemis and Wally knew he could get her away faster than she could run.

"Freak," She scowled as she ran for cover.

"Artemis! Look out!" Wally yelled in a panic. The archer turned in time to see another one of Klarion's spells heading her way. She only had time to widen her eyes in surprise before the spell hit her, engulfing her in its red light.

"Artemis!" M'gann screamed over the mind link.

"Artemis!" Kid Flash yelled, his legs still propelling himself toward where her clothes were lying.

"Klarion," A doubled voice rang out. Doctor Fate had arrived.

"No..." Wally breathed, falling to his knees in front of the green fabric. His mind only half wondering why her clothes were safe from the spell.

"KF!" Robin called out as he ran over, his eyes widening at the sight, "What happened," He nearly whispered.

"Klarion's spell," Wally answered, reaching out to hold her bow. _Not again. This can't be happening_.

"He must have sent her somewhere," Robin stated, "Maybe we can ge-"

The fabric rustled.

"Did you see that?" The boy wonder whispered, Wally only nodded.

"Artemis?" He called softly, his hand reaching out to move her clothes back hesitantly.

The two heroes gasped. There, huddled into Artemis's top like a makeshift dress, was a small blonde haired, grey eyed child. Her wide eyes darted back and forth between the boys, her body shaking slightly from fear.

"Artemis?" Wally asked again, not truly believing his eyes. The child sat up in surprise at the sound of her name before scrambling to her feet and trying to run away, "Wait, Artemis!" The speedster called, his hand gently grabbing her arm to stop her escape and turn her to face them.

"Don' hurt me!" Artemis shrieked, scrunching up her face in preparation for a hit as she struggled against Wally's hold. Kid Flash pulled his hand away like she had burned him.

"Artemis we won't hurt you. We're your friends," Robin spoke softly. The girl stood very still, and Wally could tell she was at odds with herself.

"I'm Kid Flash," He explained, pointed to himself before pointing to the boy next to him, "And this is Robin,"

"Daddys friends?" Artemis asked hesitantly, narrowing her eyes as she tried to recognize them.

"Uh," Robin paused, glancing at Wally before continuing, "No, we aren't,"

By this time the rest of the team had finished getting all the animals back in their cages and were walking over to join them. M'gann gasped as soon as she saw Artemis, her face a mix of worry and adoration.

"No!" Artemis yelped as soon as she saw Superboy, "No you Justice!" She yelled, attempting to run again.

"Artemis!" M'gann called, floating over and sweeping the squirming girl into her arms, "We'll help you!"

"No!" The blonde screeched, her arms flying around in an attempt to get free, "Lemme go!"

M'gann frowned and the rest of the team hover around her anxiously, but she wouldn't release Artemis. The child eventually gave up, her shoulders slumped and angry tears filled her eyes.

"Daddys gonna be mad," She mumbled, her eyes glossy.

"Step aside," The doubled voice of Doctor Fate spoke as he floated over. The team parted to make room for him.

"Can you change her back?" Wally asked.

"No," The magician stated, his eyes glowing as he analyzed the magic that had affected the archer.

"What?" Zatanna exclaimed, "Every spell can be reversed! You must kn-"

"I cannot reverse the spell," Doctor Fate stated loudly, "But it will wear off with time,"

"How much time?" Kaldur asked gravely.

"Three days, at most," He declared, nodding briefly before flying off without another word.

Artemis startled as all the eyes turned back to her, tears rolling down her cheeks once more.

"Daddys gonna be mad at me," She mumbled.

"Well we can tell him where you are," Zatanna spoke up, her voice taking on a soft edge.

"Daddys gonna be mad," Artemis continued mumbling, "Daddy's gonna hurt me. Daddy's gonna hurt Mama," Her small hands fisted in the fabric of M'gann's gloves.

"He'll hurt you?" M'gann repeated, her eyes wide with shock.

Artemis's eyes widened and Wally realized she must not have meant to say that out loud.

"Let's get her back to the cave," Kaldur stated.

* * *

The team had gathered in the living room. It was silent for a bit as Artemis slumbered quietly in Wally's lap.

Artemis had been shivering in the Bioship so Robin has pressured Wally to cuddle the girl because his body heat was unnaturally high from his metabolism. She had swiftly fallen asleep and Wally had no qualms with keeping her close by once she was peaceful; her tear streaked cheeks were hard to ignore.

"Robin," Kaldur spoke up, "You spoke of her father as if you know him..." He questioned, his voice trailing off at the end.

The boy wonder looked at his teammates, his mind torn between two loyalties, "I do, but it's not really my place to divulge that information," He frowned.

"She said that he was going to hurt her," M'gann whispered, her hand clasped tightly in Conner's.

"How much can you tell us without breaking contract?" Wally asked, his eyes still on the little Artemis curled up against his warm torso.

"Umm," Robin pondered the question.

"Does her dad really abuse her?" Zatanna asked, her gaze on the ground.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Was Robin's brief answer.

"She mentioned her mother too," Conner stated, the underlying question obvious.

"..." Robin paused, wondering how much he could convey. Before deciding it was best that they understood, "Her mother is in a wheelchair. Her father was the likely cause, though it can't be proven,"

The teens grew quiet; some staring at Artemis, and others still staring at Robin. He noticed the sympathy in their eyes and felt the need to clarify.

"Artemis is going to be upset that I told you," He started again, "She doesn't want pity," Robin told them sternly, "Also, just because she is a child doesn't mean she isn't dangerous,"

"What does that mean?" Wally questioned, a hint of a laugh trying to escape when he noticed Artemis's thumb had made its way into her mouth.

"It means that even at this age Artemis has been trained and knows how to fight. So everyone just needs to be careful,"

"That's just great," Wally groaned, a concerned look on his face as he began to wonder how safe it was to have this kid in his lap, "So, who gets the first watch?"

* * *

"I have the worst friends..." Wally grumbled to himself as he stared at the blonde girl, her hair was tickling his arm, "I don't think they even really had places to be," He told her, his mouth shutting quickly when she stirred at the noise. Her grey eyes opened curiously, and soon turned panicked, "Wait Artemis!" He yelped as the child rolled off of his lap and started running away.

"No!" She yelled, running toward the kitchen attached to the living room.

"Artemis, why are you hiding?" He smirked, standing up and eyeing the island she was standing behind.

"Kidnappa!" She accused, and Wally could hear her rummaging through the kitchen drawers.

"No," Wally sighed, wondering how he could explain the situation to her, "We're just...babysitting you for a while,"

"Lia!" Artemis yelled. Wally took a couple of steps toward the kitchen before Artemis suddenly reappeared beside the island, her hands full of kitchen knives.

"A-Arty!" Wally spluttered, raising his hands defensively, "You need to put those down! You could hurt yourself!" He panicked, taking a tentative step forward.

"Yous a kidnappa!" She declared before launching a knife at him.

"Wha!" Wally screeched as his super speed allowed him to dodge the object heading for him. The knife lodged itself into the couch behind him, "What are you doing?"

Artemis just scrunched up her face in concentration and continued throwing the sharp utensils at the speedster. Wally sped around the room, avoiding the projectiles.

"Artemis! Please!" Wally yelped, "We didn't kidnap you!" He yelled as he hid behind a recliner, "Look, I can call your mom! You can talk to her!"

The thunks from the landing knives stopped.

"Really?" Came a small voice. Wally sighed and stood up warily.

"Yeah, just give me a second to find your phone, aright?" He held his hands out in defense. The little girl nodded curtly and Wally zipped to her room to grab her phone that was lying on her desk. It was only a few short moments before he was calling 'Mom' in the contacts.

"Artemis?" A woman's voice came through the speaker.

"Ms. Crock," Wally tried to speak as politely as he could with his adrenaline still raised from dodging knives, "This is Kid Flash, er, Wally. I...uh," How was he supposed to start this conversation?

"Is Artemis okay?" Wally could hear the panic in her voice.

"Oh! Yeah she's fine!" He responded quickly, "It's just that, ah," He ran a hand through his hair, "She kind of got hit with a spell on the last mission and is now, like, four years old again," He bit his lip, waiting for her response, "But it'll only be for a little while!" He added as an afterthought.

"Oh my," Paula breathed.

"We weren't going to bother you, but Artemis is getting out of hand. She thinks we kidnapped her and won't stop throwing knives at me," He told her, exasperated. The redhead frowned when he was sure he heard some laughter on the other end of the line.

"What would you like from me?" Paula asked, trying to understand how she could amend the situation.

"Well I'll give the phone to her; so can you just calm her down? It's best if we keep her here but it'd be a lot easier if she wasn't fighting us,"

"Of course," Paula agreed easily. Wally sighed in relief, holding the phone away as he headed back to the kitchen where Artemis still stood with knives in hand.

"Hey, Artemis," He spoke softly, "I've got your Mom on the phone. Do you wanna talk to her?" He offered, stepping forward some before placing the phone on the ground between them and backing off.

Artemis darted forward as soon as Wally was at a safe distance, having to drop the knives in order to hold the large (for her) phone in both hands, pressing the device to her ear eagerly.

"Momma?" She asked, her voice cracking slightly before she bit her lip.

"Hi Sweetie," Paula's voice was loud enough from the phone that Wally could hear it.

"Momma I's kidnap," Artemis sniffed, her lower lip trembling.

"No Honey, you're mistaken," Her mother's voice seemed to soothe the girl, "You are going to stay with Wally and his friends for a little while,"

Artemis pouted, he eyes drifting over to said teen, "Walla?" The redhead smiled at the mention of his name.

"Yes, so will you be a good girl for me?" Paula asked.

"Do Daddy know I here?" The blonde pursed her lips nervously.

There was a pause before Paula answered, "Yes,"

"Where Jade?" Artemis asked quickly.

"Jade's busy," Was the only explanation, "So are you going to behave while you're there?"

"Okay Momma," The girl nodded, though Paula couldn't see that.

"That's my girl," She praised, making Artemis blush, "Can you give the phone back to Wally now?"

"Okay," Artemis quipped as she walked over to the boy, he held his hand out and she dropped the phone in his hand. Wally smiled at her, but she still eyed him warily.

"Thank you so much," Wally told her gratefully, on the other end of the line Paula chuckled lightly.

"Don't hesitate to call if you need anything else,"

"Alright, Thanks,"

"Recognized: Miss Martian. Recognized Zatanna Zatara," The computer announced.

"Goodbye Wally," Paula spoke lightly, Wally had only just replied and hung up when the two girls reached him.

"We picked up some clothes for Artemis," M'gann said, holding up a couple plastic bags.

"Let's get you into some better clothes," Zatanna smiled, her hand held out for Artemis's.

The blonde stared at them for a few moments and then looked down at her shirt/dress, "Okay," She resigned, placing her hand in Zatanna's.

"We'll be right back," M'gann quipped as they lead the girl away to change.

Wally zipped to the kitchen, picking up the knives on the floor as he went. He frowned as he put them in the dishwasher. Little Artemis is frightening, no wonder she can keep up with us metas. He mused, getting into the cabinets for sustenance.

His mind wandered as he munched his way through a bag of chips.

CRUNCH

_She really knew how to throw those knives, if I hadn't had my superspeed..._

CRUNCH

_She was so worried about being hurt by her father, I wonder who he is..._

CRUNCH

_How could anyone hurt a little girl? No, not just a little girl, but Artemis. Her father, whoever he is, hurt her. He deserves to be-_

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by soft pounding on his leg. Blonde pigtails swung from side-to-side as tiny fists beat against his calf.

"Walla! Food!" Artemis stared up at the redhead. Wally looked around to find where M'gann and Zee had gone, hoping that maybe he'd have back up this time. Another small punch to his lower leg. "They gone somewhere. Said that you," The kid poked him for emphasis, "Would get me food."

He raised his eyebrows up, "Did they now? Um, what'd you like to eat?"

Dragging him along by his jeans, the little blonde girl stopped in front of the fridge. "Open." She ordered, to which Wally did not obey. He was not going to give in to the demands of this little knife-throwing devil, "Walla!" She scowled, her bottom lip thrown out. "Open!"

"What's the magic word?" He said, grinning at the frustrated blonde.

Artemis paused, looking away thoughtfully, "Or else," She said with finality. Wally blanched in shock.

"What? No. It's please. You say please," He told her, halfway not even believing she just said that. Though he decided that he really shouldn't be surprised, it was a very Artemis thing to say.

"Begging shows despa..." She narrowed her eyes, "Despa...ate...chon," The blonde said slowly, trying to sound out the word.

"Yeah, okay," Wally mumbled, opening the refrigerator door, "What are you hungry for?"

"Choc-wate," She answered tersely, peering into the fridge.

"That's a dessert," He pointed out, "How about something that isn't so sweet,"

Artemis frowned at him when he snatched up a leftover burrito and started eating it cold, he just shrugged and gestured to the pantry.

"Look around, pick something out," He waved his hand around, his focus now entirely on searching for the buffalo wings he was sure were right behind the potato salad...

"Walla," The girl spoke, catching his attention once again, "Dat," She pointed in the pantry at a blue and yellow box too high for her to reach.

"Macaroni!" Wally grinned, grabbing four boxes in one hand and Artemis in the other hoisting her up on his hip, "I can do that!" He told her as she stared at him wearily, her eyes glancing to the floor.

"Walla dunt drop me," She warned, her hands fisting into his shirt.

The speedster turn his head to grin at her, his free hand starting the stove up with familiarity, "I'm not gonna drop you," Artemis narrowed her eyes at him while he put a large pot of water on the stove, "And now we wait,"

"Put me down," She ordered.

"What's your favorite fruit?" Wally asked, still holding the girl as he made his way back to the fridge.

"Pears," Artemis grumbled, squirming in his grip. Wally grabbed a plastic bag full of the fruit and turned to the island, "Down Walla!" She commanded, and when the speedster didn't comply she began using a different tactic.

"Ouch!" He yelped as he flinched from her pinches, "Ow! Okay! Okay!" He relented, placing her into a bar chair at the island, and frowned when the girl laughed.

Wally turned around and opened the boxes of pasta, not noticing Artemis climb down the side of the chair to retrieve a plastic bag M'gann had left on the couch for her. He was still focused on pouring in the pasta when she came back, too.

Artemis poked her tongue out between her lips as she concentrated on trying to clamber back up onto the bar chair. Her new coloring book and crayons were thrown on the seat for safe keeping as the blonde focused on climbing the far apart rungs. She had nearly succeeded when the chair tilted from the top heavy weight of a child on one side.

"Walla!" Artemis screeched, her hands reaching for the tabletop as the chair fell.

The speedster turned swiftly around at the sound of her cry, managing to grab the girl before she hit the floor using his super speed. "Gotcha!" He grinned, his voice clashing with the clattering of the fallen chair. Artemis had a vice grip on his sleeves but managed to twist around in his arms to look at the floor.

"My book!" She gasped. Wally looked down curiously and sure enough, there was a coloring book and a box of crayons next to the chair.

"Alright, hold on," He told her, placing her on the next chair over from the one that had fallen, "Careful," Wally mumbled, his hand resting briefly on top of her head before he bent to pick up Artemis's things and the tipped chair.

"My hero," Artemis breathed, reaching for the book. Wally blushed, one hand working its way into his messy hair.

"Aw, well, you would have been okay," He reassured her, freezing at the angry look she abruptly gave him.

"No," She snapped, waving the coloring book in front of his face, 'Dis is my hero!" Artemis announced, pointing with a newly grown smile at the green clad archer in glossy bright color.

"Uhh," Wally stammered, "Green Arrow, he's cool I guess," He busied himself with stirring the pasta.

"Da coolest," Artemis corrected him simply. Wally chuckled a bit and stirred the pasta, vaguely listening to the sounds of Artemis's crayons sliding along the paper.

"My favorite hero is the Flash," He grinned, moving around the kitchen to find a strainer. The redhead turned as he strained the pasta to catch Artemis's face.

She had paused thoughtfully at his statement, "Flash too bright," Artemis declared, nodding decisively.

"What?" Wally blanched, nearly dropping the pot of pasta he was carrying to the table, "But it works!" He defended, stirring the cheese sauce ingredients into the mix with a bit more force than necessary.

Artemis turned to the teen standing next to her chair, eyeing his reaction to her statement, "I do like..." She said slowly, biting her lip in thought, "I like his smile,"

Wally's eyebrows knit together as he processed what she just said. He had to admit, it was an unusual aspect to like in a superhero, "Why's that?" He finally asked, scooping some macaroni into a bowl for the girl.

"Cuz he's happy," She told him, her face lighting up at the food placed in front of her. Artemis opened her mouth briefly to say something else, but noticed she hadn't swallowed and swiftly remedied the problem before continuing, "Other heroes always serus,"

"Serious?" Wally questioned, trying to guess the word.

"Das what I said," Artemis scowled, 'Serus,"

Wally held up his hands in mock surrender before digging into his own bowl of pasta.

The small girl was still in the process of eating her meal when a thought suddenly occurred to her and she turned to catch his attention, "Dun tell Daddy," It was a mix of an order and a plea.

"Tell him what?" The redhead asked curiously, already on his second serving.

"Bout heroes," Artemis spoke gravely.

Wally frowned, "Why not?"

"Daddy dunt like heroes," She explained, her large grey eyes burrowing into him, "Dey get him in trouble,"

The speedster nearly choked on his food as he realized what she had inadvertently just told him. _Her dad is a criminal_. That was a lot to take in, not to mention all the questions it opened up._ But it does explain why she's trained.._.Wally mused. And while his mind was filling up with things he wanted to ask her, there were a few choice questions that took priority.

"Artemis do you love your father?" He asked calmly. The child paused with her crayon in hand, having already finished her food.

"I don't know," She whispered, not looking at him.

"Does your father want to you be like him?" Wally tried.

"Daddy wants me to learn da family biz-nus," Artemis recited. Wally was not surprised, it was the same logical jump his mind had made when he thought about how all the aspects of Artemis lined up after all he had learned. Artemis was raised to be a criminal, so how did she end up here? As a superhero? He had theories about that too, but most of them were unpleasant and Wally didn't want to jump to such rash conclusions, no matter how much his quick mind wanted him to.

"Do you want to learn the family business?" Wally asked her gently.

"I dun wanna make people cry," Was her resolute answer, her lips turned to a deep frown, "Daddy makes people cry,"

It wasn't a straight answer, but it was all the answer he needed; and Wally was relieved that his worst suspicions were proven wrong.

"Can I color with you?" He asked, pushing aside the empty bowls from their meal.

Artemis turned her head to eye him warily before nodding, apparently deciding he was worthy enough to color in her book. The tiny blonde girl ripped out one of her less favorite pages and slid it over to him while Wally placed the box of crayons between them.

"I think I'll color him yellow," The speedster announced.

"What?" Artemis looked affronted.

"Why not? Then I can color a red one and we can have an Arrow stoplight!" He grinned.

The girl tried holding giggles, but eventually failed. Wally was quite pleased with this achievement.

He continued to work hard to make Artemis laugh for the rest of their coloring session. Succeeding with the majority of jokes at his own expense. Wally didn't really know why he didn't try that earlier. He should have known she would find the most joy in making fun of him.

* * *

**So there you have it! Something has occurred! Rest assured, this is all part of the same story. Anyone want to take a guess of how this happened?**

**Another chapter will be up in a few days! Please review! 3**


	4. Alice in Wonderland

**Hey Everyone! I know that you guys are pretty confused! So here's a hint: Think of Misplaced!**

* * *

"Artemis, I've gotta go home now, can you let go of me please?" Wally pleaded to the little blonde who was tugging on his shirt tails.

Furrowing her brow and pouting, she tightened her grip and pulled down harder. "No, you can' go home, you promise watch movie with me."

Sighing, he reached into his pocket, took out his mobile, and left a message on his parent's voicemail that he wouldn't be back till late because of a mission. His phone interested Artemis, who began to jump up to try and take it from his hands.

"Lemme see, lemme see Walla!" She squealed, blonde pigtails bobbing up and down on her shoulders.

He put the lock on the phone, handed it to her, and picked her up; throwing her in the air a bit. She laughed and nearly let go of his cell.

"You wanted to watch a movie?" Wally asked, trying in vain to take his cell phone out of her grasp.

"Yeah," Artemis nodded, her legs swinging carelessly.

Wally grinned and threw her over his shoulder, walking casually to the living room so as to not jostle her, "What movie do you wanna watch?" He asked, dropping her in a giggling heap on the couch.

"Alice!" She exclaimed, her grey eyes wide and bright with excitement. The redhead nodded and pulled out two DVD's, holding them out for her to see. One was Disney's classic animated Alice in Wonderland, and the other was Disney's new live-action Alice in Wonderland.

"Which one?" He asked. Artemis's jaw dropped as she took in the two cases, scrambling off the couch to run up and snatch them out of his hands. Wally rose an eyebrow at her baffled expression, her eyes darting between the movies.

"What this?" She asked, holding out the more recent movie, seeming thoroughly confused by it.

"That's Alice in Wonderland," He explained.

"No," Artemis frowned, holding out the animated version, "Dis is,"

"This is a new movie," Wally told her, holding the back of the DVD case up for her to see, "With real people,"

Artemis gasped in glee, "Let's watch dis!" She told him, shoving the colorful case into his chest before rushing back to the couch.

Wally managed to pop the DVD in fast enough to catch Artemis in the process of attempting to climb onto the couch, "Up we go!" He said, grabbing her and swinging her onto the cushions.

"Walla!" She squealed in surprise, twisting about until she was sitting upright with a defined pout on her face.

"Do you want to watch the trailers?" He asked, remote in hand. Artemis shook her head so he went straight to the play button, smirking at the small grudge she seemed to be sporting for him from his roughhousing.

Fifteen minutes into the movie her anger had ebbed and Artemis had scooted over to sit side-by-side. Wally internally pondered her actions. Most children would have cuddled up; and in fact, because of his high body temperature, most did. But Artemis had only allowed herself to sit close to him, and while he tried to bump her and let her know that she was welcome to lean against him, she still wouldn't. The speedster wondered if it was just how Artemis was, or if her abusive father had anything to do with it. A sudden thought came to him.

What if she's still living with her father? He grit his teeth in anger. Artemis might be little now, but what about her family situation in the current time. What if he was still around? Still abusing her? Still trying to pressure her into crime?

"Walla," Artemis nudged him, bringing his attention back to the movie.

"What?" He asked, whispering as she had done.

"It Sissy," She smiled as the Cheshire Cat filled the screen.

"Why is that your sister?" Wally asked.

"Sissy gonna disappear. No one control her," Artemis explained.

Wally nodded, not really following but pretending he did anyway. Then there was silence for a bit until the Mad Hatter appeared in the movie. Artemis straightened up, pulling on his sleeve in excitement.

"It you," She pointed at the TV.

"No it's not," Wally scowled, slightly offended by her accusation.

"You have fire hair," She pointed out, "He have fire hair,"

"Fine," He huffed, playing along, "Does that mean you're Alice?"

"Yeah," Artemis sighed wistfully. She nudged him again, as though she didn't already have his attention, "I look for wonderland," She explained.

"Oh," Was all he could get out.

And as the movie continued playing, Wally remembered something.

_The team was working as a group to put together a nice dinner after a long and gruesome mission. Wally wasn't actually allowed near the food, but that was beside the point._

_"Can you pass me the potatoes?" Robin asked. Kaldur paused his job of chopping vegetables to hand a bowl of unskinned potatoes to the boy wonder._

_"I'm sooooo hungry," Wally whined. Artemis rolled her eyes at his dramatic position on the couch._

_"Dinner should be ready soon," M'gann chirped cheerfully over Zatanna's spells._

_"Artemis can you grab me some milk," Conner grumbled at the stove._

_"Sure thing, White Rabbit," She answered quickly, already at the fridge._

_Wally pulled his head out of a couch pillow to glance at the girl. _What had she just called him? White rabbit? Where'd she get that nickname? I thought I was the only one she had a nickname for._ For the rest of the dinner preparation the speedster pondered over what Artemis had called Conner. That was, until the food came out of the oven and the smell of it took control over all parts of his brain._

In hindsight, the redhead supposed he probably overanalyzed the small nickname she had used, but it was also because of his wonderings that he remembered the event at all.

He looked back down at the small blonde and grinned; she was on the edge of the cushion, punching the air as Alice fought the Jabberwocky.

"Go Alice, go!"

She turned to Wally, and gave him the 'why-aren't-you-cheering-too' look. She crawled over to him, sat on his lap, and folded her arms.

"Why you not yell for Alice?" She scowled, and he put his hands up innocently. "Uh, I was, erm, cheering on the inside?"

This was not good enough for her, so she tried to push his arms up, "Cheer for Alice, Walla, cheer!"

"Alright, alright, sheesh," He groaned, throwing an arm in the air to pump a fist lazily, "Woo-hoo," He said blandly.

"Walla!" Artemis scolded, her arms folded across her chest, "You have ta show Alice you tink she's doing good. Daddy says praise makes warriahs weak; but when Sissy tells me I do good it makes me feel strongah."

"Oh," Wally replied, once again thrown speechless by a child.

A few dramatic scenes later Artemis was jumping up and down on the couch, cheering for the heroine, while Wally yelled encouraging phrases at the screen.

* * *

Just as the ending credits began to roll, the little blonde had curled up a little bit against the couch and started to nod off, not that Wally could blame her; he could feel his own eyelids drooping heavily from lack of sleep.

He leaned back into the cushions and sighed, mind drifting back to thoughts of Artemis's home life.

_She hides it so well. Her feelings, her thoughts, her fears. Always kept inside. And there's probably so much more that I don't even know about. An abusive criminal father...How did she even get the strength to go against his wishes? To take the opposite path? It's one thing to just refuse, it's another to actively fight against. I guess she's braver than I thought..._

Wally decided at that very moment that he was going to find out if she was still fighting against the wishes of her father. If she was still being pressured from the man who should have loved her instead of punishing her. He had to help her.

"Daddy..." Artemis whined, curling into a ball, "Daddy no...Don't..."

Wally frowned in sadness. This girl was going to break his heart if she kept this up.

"Artemis," He whispered, leaning over to gently pat her hair. She tensed a bit at first, but slowly began relaxing as he moved his hand to her shaking back to rub circles into it just like his mother had done when he was a child.

The blonde didn't wake up, and Wally was dead tired, so he carefully scooped her up into his arms, marveling in how tiny she was. The child didn't seem so small when she was talking back to him.

It was probably his drowsy attitude that lead him to bring the girl to his own room, and the mistake would have been amended, but when he laid her down in the covers her hands refused to let go of the sleeve they had found on the trip there. Artemis's grip was tight, and he didn't want to wake her up, so Wally relented and just scooted her over so that he could lay on one side of the bed while Artemis and his hijacked arm got the other.

"Goodnight Artemis," He whispered, letting his eyes drift shut.

The small girl was far too deep into her sleep to respond.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! Please leave a review!**

**Just one more chapter is left!**

**3 Veg (Geeky is in HAWAII! THE LUCKY GIRL!)**


	5. Good Morning

**Thank you so much for sticking through to the end! We hope you've enjoyed it! So without further adieu: the last chapter!**

* * *

Artemis woke up slowly; consciousness seeping into mind parts at a time. Her mind was still groggy when her senses told her that someone's arms were wrapped around her. It was when she registered the fact that she was snuggling up to this someone that her mind fully returned.

The archer's eyes shot open and her muscles tensed. Her grey orbs were immediately drawn to the shock of red hair that belonged to her cuddly someone. _Wally? Why am I in bed with Wally?_ Her heart raced as her thoughts tried to place what had happened the night before.

That was when she remembered what had occurred_. Oh right. Klarion's spell._ She eyed the speedster who had his face nuzzled into her hair, lightly snoring._ I wonder if he remembers being a kid yesterday? I can ask him later. _Artemis decided._ First I need to get out of his bed..._

Artemis was a highly trained warrior. She could hide in the shadows, track any prey, disable any target. But after trying multiple times, and multiple ways, she could not get Wally to let go of her. Whenever she tried to remove his arms from her waist he would just end up pulling her closer. _When did Wally get so strong?_ Artemis mentally huffed as she tried to pry herself away.

Wally grumbled a bit as she pressed her hands against his chest, attempting to push him away. Her muscles were starting to get irritated with their early morning use and Artemis took a rest, her head landing on his bicep where it had been before she woke up.

"Why are you so difficult?" She whispered, staring at his peaceful face.

"Huh?" Wally snorted, "What?" His hazy green eyes sought her out, widening as they took in the fact that she was so close.

Artemis raised an eyebrow, "You woke up from that? I've just been pushing you around for the past ten minutes!"

"M'sorry Beautiful," He muttered, his eyes drooping closed as his head fell back onto the pillow. The blonde smirked. Evidently Wally was not completely awake yet.

"Wally do you remember what happened yesterday?" She asked, her voice smug. Artemis had to admit she kind of relished the idea that he probably had no idea and would have to rely on her for the information.

He shut his eyes tightly for a moment, collecting his thoughts, "Oh!" The redhead gasped, turning to analyze the archer in his arms, "You're you again!" He grinned.

"What?" Artemis blanched, "What are you talking about? You're the one that's back to normal!" She shoved a finger in his chest for emphasis.

"Wait, wait, wait," Wally held up his hands, sitting up in his bed as he did. Artemis crossed her arms across her chest and sat up as well, facing him with a confused frown, "What do you remember?"

"We went on a mission and fought Klarion. One of his spells hit you and you turned into a two foot tall blubbering monster with superspeed. I was given babysitting duty," She summarized.

Now the speedster looked even more confused, "That's not what I remember," He started, "I remember fighting Klarion, but_ you_ were the one that got turned into a vicious little blonde menace,"

Artemis ignored his insult in favor of focusing on the real problem, "Why do we remember two different things?"

"And where would Klarion get de-aging technology?" Wally mused, "Ow!" He exclaimed when Artemis slugged his arm.

"Don't go there!" She snapped.

"Yeesh, and I thought you were annoying as a kid," He groaned, rubbing his arm. Wally paused as he considered this statement.

"Wally th-"

"No," The redhead nodded, "I take that back. You threw knives at me. That was scary,"

"I threw knives at you?" Artemis reiterated, "You must have deserved it,"

"Not really," He grumbled, "So what did I do? What happened?" Wally asked her, his voice losing its earlier malice.

Artemis sighed as she thought about how to respond. She wanted to hear what Wally went through as well, and the only way for that to happen was to play nice and tell him what happened to her. Besides, he was the one who was embarrassing, this was merely bringing her blackmail material into the light.

"Well..." She started, tucking her legs to the side to get comfortable, "You still had your superspeed so mostly you were just a giggling mess zipping around the cave," Wally chuckled at this, "The team put me in charge of you because you wouldn't leave me alone. You kept bothering me and calling me 'Pretty Arty'" She smirked.

"No way!" Wally protested.

"It's true!" Artemis shot back, a smirk still in place, "You even cried when you couldn't find me,"

"Whatever," The speedster grumbled, crossing his arms, "What else happened?"

"I took you to the beach and you collected sea shells; and you ate a lot," She shrugged before pausing, remembering else had occurred the day before when he had been eating.

"What?" Wally asked quietly. Artemis looked away.

"You started crying when I tried to get you to stop eating. You told me about how you're never full," The way she spoke told him that what had happened left more of an impression than she let on.

"I'm used to it," He quipped, trying to stay lighthearted, "It's a small price to pay,"

Artemis shot him a brief look; letting him know that she didn't really believe him. Wally ignored it, but understood that the archer had learned a bit a sympathy for his weakness, one he hoped she would never bring up again. _Ever_.

"What happened to me?" She asked, changing the subject before he could mention anything else about his hunger that would tug at her heartstrings.

"Other than the fact that you threw knives at me and accused me of kidnapping you? Not much, I made you dinner and we watched Alice in Wonderland."

"You made me dinner?" Artemis was torn between sentimental pleasure and worry for what she must have eaten.

"Yeah," He affirmed, his eyes drifting off as he remembered what else had occurred, "I learned some other things too..." Wally started, pausing as he tried to figure out how to word his thoughts. But the speedster saw how abruptly Artemis's eyes filled with terror and sought to set things straight, "But before I tell you what happened I just want you to know that I don't think any less of you. If anything I respect you even more,"

Artemis grit his teeth as her mind speculated on what her younger self had divulged.

"You told me about your father," Wally spoke gently, watching her face carefully as her features morphed into a mix of anger and frustration.

"How much do you know?" She asked quietly, not making eye contact.

"I know that you're father abused you, and I know that he was a criminal," Wally stated bluntly, knowing the archer wanted him to get to the point. Artemis pursed her lips and kept her eyes glued to the comforter so Wally leaned forward to catch her gaze, speaking softly, "What worries me is whether or not he's still around, still hurting you,"

He reached out to hold her hand but Artemis pulled it back, her eyes narrowed, "And how do you know I'm not working for him?"

Wally frowned, snatching her hand up using his super-speed so that she couldn't resist, "Because you're Artemis," Was all he said. If asked specifically, he wouldn't lie. The thought had crossed his mind when he'd first learned, but logic won out; as it always did with the speedster. Artemis had had plenty of chances to betray them, and each time she'd shown that she would rather lay her life on the line than leave.

The blonde bit her lip at his statement before taking a deep breath and locking eyes with the boy in front of her, "I don't live with him anymore. I haven't for about a year now,"

"Only a year!" Wally exclaimed, his hand involuntarily clenching her own. Artemis squeezed back harder and the redhead was forced to calm down, "Is he in jail?"

"No," Artemis stated simply, a hint of anger betraying her composure, "He's still a criminal, and he's tough to catch,"

"Well have you considered having us or the League go after-"

"Of course I have," The blonde nearly hissed, "And they've tried," Artemis revealed, hoping he wouldn't think about it too hard.

He did.

_If the League has tried to apprehend him...then that means he's probably pretty high up on the criminal food chain. _The speedster pondered._ And I know almost all of their big enemies..._

"Do I know him?" He asked hesitantly, knowing he was treading on thin ice. Artemis bit her lip as the thought of what to say.

"How should I know?" She shrugged, deciding to be vague.

"Aw c'mon Arty, how bad could it be?" He nudged her. Artemis sat perfectly still and Wally realized what he had just said._ Idiot. _He scolded himself._ The man beat his own child. Of course it's bad! Obviously her father must be some sort of lunatic! Wait..._ "It's not the Joker is it?"

"What!" Artemis exclaimed, baffled by his guess, "Of course not! I'm insulted, Joker has no knowledge he could have trained me with, Wally," She pointed out.

"Well you do live in Gotham!" The redhead defended, "What about Mister Freeze?"

"We are not playing twenty questions about this!" Artemis huffed.

It was silent for awhile as Wally continued plotting ways to convince Artemis to spill, while the archer stewed in annoyance and tried to control her temper.

"Look, Artemis," The teen's voice seemed casual and kind, but Artemis tensed herself for more questions and speculations, "I understand that you don't want to be connected to any of these people; but the truth is that if he's as bad as you say he is, the team might run into him. It would be better if the team had a little warning rather than be thrown into the truth during battle,"

Artemis hated it when he made sense.

"You don't need to tell the whole team just yet," Wally reasoned, "But if you just told me, I can be on your side. I can help you tell the others, if you want,"

The archer's shoulders slouched as she thought through the varying scenarios her mind conjured up at the idea of telling the team who her father was. She had tried so hard to turn a new leaf. To leave her family's tainted past (and present) behind. But Wally already knew quite a bit of her history now, and he seemed to understand; though she never would have thought he could. So maybe things would turn out okay.

Artemis glanced up to see that Wally was still watching her with a small smile, being awfully patient for someone who couldn't wait on microwave timers.

"You have to promise you'll remember whose side I'm on when I tell you," She spoke softly, in slight disbelief that she was even doing this.

"Of course," Wally grinned.

"Right...well..." Artemis faltered, the words not wanting to leave her mouth. Wally gave her hand a gentle squeeze and she was a little startled to remember that he was still holding it in the first place. She sucked in a breath, locking her eyes with his own green ones so that she could watch his reaction as she spoke, "My father, is Sportsmaster,"

Wally blinked a few times, the information slowly seeping its way into this brain and churning through his thought process. Artemis held her breath and waited for some kind of reaction from the boy.

"Sportsmaster," The speedster let the word leave his mouth slowly, as if testing it out on his tongue for the first time, "Sportsmaster," His tone was angrier this time and the archer drew in a breath, waiting for the yells of accusation, "Sportsmaster!" Wally exclaimed, both in anger and in disbelief. Artemis felt the instinct to close her eyes and cut herself off from the situation, but had long ago trained herself to resist the action, "That's who...? Artemis! You!" He pulled his hand away to run them through his hair and the archer panicked.

"I am not my father!" She shouted, her rage building at the thought that her friendship with Wally was now ruined because he thought she was a spy, or a traitor, or-.

"Whoa! Whoa Arty!" Wally leaned forward, his hands outward in surrender, "I know you aren't like him," He spoke, calmer now, "I'm just...Artemis he's probably pissed at you!"

The blonde scrunched up her face in confusion. She could _never_ understand how Wally got from point A to point B in a conversation, that is, if this counted as such a thing.

"Of course he's mad. He's a cold, calculating villain whose daughter refused to follow in his footsteps," Artemis leveled.

"How do you know he's not after you?" Wally asked, his bright green eyes a bit wide.

"I do know he's after me," Artemis narrowed her eyes. Of all the ways this scenario played out in her head, none of them had involved these kinds of questions, "But it's not a problem,"

"How is that not a problem?" Wally continued pestering.

"Because he can't force me to do anything," The archer explained, figuring that the sooner he understood everything was fine the sooner this would all be over with.

"Artemis, he's hurt you before; who's to say he wouldn't do it again?" His voice was soft, "How do I know he isn't going to take you?"

She paused briefly to mull over the fact that Wally had used the term _'I'_ instead of '_we_' before answering honestly, "Because his training has backfired on me. He taught me to handle pain and torture, he knows that nothing he could do to me would work," Artemis smirked, "It really bothers him,"

"This isn't a joke!" Wally growled.

"You don't think I know that?" Artemis snapped back. _Honestly what is with him?_

The two fell into a tense silence, each watching the other carefully for any signs of further outbursts.

The archer tucked her feet in tighter and rolled her gaze to the wall behind him, tasting the words she wanted to say to make sure they would come out right. It had been bothering her since she'd learned, and it didn't help with how flippant the speedster was with his reaction, "Do you ever feel full?" She blurted out, with the same mentality of ripping off a band-aid.

"Sorry?" He lied. He had heard her fine, but he wasn't quite ready to tackle the question yet._ Hadn't they already talked about this?_

"Your metabolism," Artemis wasn't letting him off, she saw the apprehension in his eyes.

Wally sighed and leaned back against the wall behind him, "No...I don't ever get full," He explained, his tone making it obvious that he despised the topic, "But I'm used to it. So it's not like I really remember what being full is like now anyway,"

Artemis watched his face as it scrunched up in a near flinch. He didn't want pity or sympathy; but she understood that, she understood that wish very well. So instead of giving him praises, she gave him the truth, "It sounds like you've got it down, and from what I can tell it still sounds like a pretty fair trade."

"Yeah," The redhead grinned, and Artemis couldn't help that her brain suddenly found him adorable with his disheveled hair and crooked smile, "Yeah it's a great trade off,"

The archer would have said something snarky but before she could open her lips, Wally's stomach let out a loud rumble. Artemis let out a small laugh when he had the decency to look bashful.

"Come on, let's go out to breakfast," She smirked, grabbing his arm and dragging him out of bed with her.

"You're paying right?" He teased, not pulling his wrist away from her loose grip.

"Please," Artemis scoffed, rolling her eyes, "You're paying for me,"

"Alright," Wally smirked, "But only if I can take you to a movie afterwards,"

The blonde didn't answer for a moment, wondering if she should take this step. But when she turned her head and saw Wally beside her, grinning like an idiot, there wasn't any doubt left in her mind, "Only if it's not a chick flick,"

His hand slipped down to grab hers, his smile only growing wider, "It's a date,"

And they both knew it wasn't only a figure of speech.

Slipping out the door quietly, in case the others were still asleep, they walked hand-in-hand towards the zetas.

"I know the best pancake house in Gotham if you'd like, all the ones in Central won't let me in." Wally smiled, swinging his arms a little.

Artemis rolled her eyes, "Is that a good thing?" She didn't exactly want to get kicked out because of the boy's appetite.

Right as they got to the zeta, a bright glowing covered the pad, and a few seconds later, Dr. Fate stepped nodded at him, and he simply stated, "Good to see you're both back to normal." before walking off in the direction of the training room.

Facing each other, they both shrugged and went on through the zeta, Wally's stomach rumbling the entire way.

* * *

**If you're wondering why we didn't really tackle the issue of "_How did this actually happen_?" head on. It's because it's not the point of the story. **

**The point was that each of them experienced time with their younger halves and learned things they wouldn't have from each other at their current ages. **

**Thank you so much for reading! Veg and Geeky**


End file.
